1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to casino card games, and more specifically, it relates to a combination wagering game for simultaneously playing several card games.
2. Description of Related Art
The games of Poker and Blackjack have each been very popular with casino patrons. These games have been combined in various forms to further heighten their potential for attracting people into casinos.
There are many basic strategies for blackjack, depending on the casino's rules and the number of decks used. The object of the game is to beat the dealer with a total hand count equal to or less than 21. Each face card counts as 10, the aces count as 1 or 11 and the remaining cards have a count corresponding to the number on the card (i.e., 2–10 count cards).
Before any cards are dealt, the player must place a wager. He does this by placing his bet in the form of a chip or chips in the designated space on his designated table position. The dealer then deals two cards to each of the players, and two to himself (one of the dealer's cards is dealt face up and one is dealt face down).
If the player's first two cards are an ace and a 10 or face card, he wins and this hand is called a blackjack. However, if the dealer also has a blackjack, it is a push or a tie, and the wager is returned to the player. A winning blackjack pays the player 3 to 2. All other winning hands pay 1 to 1.
Taking a “hit” means to draw another card (which the player signifies by scraping the table with his cards or a similar hand motion). “Standing” means that the player opts to take no more cards (which the player signals by placing his cards under his wager or moving his hand in a horizontal direction). If the player hits and busts (goes over 21), he immediately turns his cards over and his wager is lost.
The player is allowed to double the bet on his first two cards but must draw one additional card only to improve his hand. This rule is referred to as “doubling down.” If the first two cards a player is dealt are a pair, he may split them into two separate hands, transfer the original bet to the first hand, bet the same amount on the second hand and then play them separately. Under some house rules, when Aces are split, the player may receive only one additional card per hand. After splitting, A-10 hands counts as 21 and not as blackjack.
If the dealer's up card is an ace, the player may place an insurance bet, a bet not exceeding one-half his original bet. If the dealer's down card is a 10 or any face card, the player wins 2 to 1 on the insurance bet. Any other card means a win for the dealer. The dealer must draw on 16 and stand on 17. In some casinos, the dealer is required to draw on a soft 17 (i.e., a hand that, due to the presence of an Ace can be valued at 7 or 17).
A well-known board game called Tripoley® combines the games of Hearts, Poker and Michigan Rummy and is played by any number up to nine. The game is manufactured and Distributed by CADACO-ELLIS, INC. Merchandise Mart of Chicago, Ill. Chips are equally distributed to all Players. A standard 52-card deck of regular playing cards is used. To begin the game, each Player places a Chip on each of the nine sections on the Tripoley® layout (i.e., A, K, Q, J, 10 of hearts, K–Q of hearts, 8-9-10 of any suit, Kitty and Pot). The entire deck of cards is dealt to the players (including an extra or “dead” hand, which is not used). It makes no difference if some Players have one more Card than others.
The Player who finds among his HEART Cards the Ace, King, Queen, Jack or Ten, takes the Chips from the corresponding Section (i.e., if you are dealt the Jack of Hearts, take all Chips in the Jack Section). If a Player holds the King and Queen of Hearts, he not only gets the Chips in each of these Sections, but also the Chips in the King-Queen Section. When a Pay Card is in the “dead” hand, the Chips in that Section cannot be claimed. A Player holding the 8-9-10 of ANY single suit (i.e., 8-9-10 Spades) takes the Chips from that Section. The King-Queen and 8-9-10 sequences are not often held, hence a large pile of Chips often accumulates on these Sections. Any Player not claiming his Pay Card winnings before The Poker hand starts, automatically loses his right and the Chips remain for the next hand.
Each Player then uses his five best Cards to make his strongest Poker hand. The remaining cards are set aside, but are not discarded. The Dealer starts the betting, depending on the value of his hand. He can bet, check or pass. All bets and raises are placed in the Pot and the best hand wins all the chips therein.
Players then take up the cards set aside. The dealer starts by laying down in front of him, face up, the lowest card in his hand, and calling it by name. The Player who holds the next highest consecutive card in the same Suit places it in front of him, etc., until the Ace of the Suit originally opened is reached or, because of holding in the “dead” hand, a STOP is reached. That Player must CHANGE Suits, playing the LOWEST Card in any of the other Suits in his hand. Should he be unable to Change Suits, the Player to his left starts. The first to discard all of his Cards wins the Chips in the Kitty. The remaining Players pay the winner one Chip for each Card left in their hands.
The Deal then passes to the left. The Cards are reshuffled and Players ante again to each of the nine Sections, regardless of whether or not the Chips therein were gained on the previous hand.
When the players are ready to stop, a considerable number of Chips may remain on the Tripoley® game layout. To distribute Chips left in the King-Queen and 8-9-10 Sections, five cards are dealt to each Player as a show-down Poker hand. Additional bets may be placed if desired. Another method is to deal out all Cards, including “dead” hand, and proceed as in a MICHIGAN RUMMY game. Any Player discarding an 8, 9, or 10 gets a one-third interest in Chips in that Section. Similarly, the Players-laying down a King or Queen of Hearts gets a one-half interest in the King-Queen combination. Play continues until the Tripoley® Layout is cleared.
Poker is a card game played with a standard fifty-two-card deck in which players bet into a communal pot during the course of a hand, and in which the player holding the best hand at the end of the betting wins the pot. During a given betting round, each remaining player in turn may take one of four actions:    1. check, a bet of zero that does not forfeit interest in the pot;    2. bet or raise, a nonzero bet greater than preceding bets that all successive players must match or exceed or else forfeit all interest in the pot;    3. call, a nonzero bet equal to a preceding bet that maintains a player's interest in the pot; or    4. fold, a surrender of interest in the pot in response to another players's bet, accompanied by the loss of one's cards and previous bets.
Betting usually proceeds in turn in a circle until each player has either called all bets or folded. Different poker games have various numbers of betting rounds interspersed with the receipt or replacement of cards.
Although Poker is usually played with a standard 4-suit 52-card deck, jokers or other wild cards may be added. The ace normally plays high, but can sometimes play low, as explained below. At the showdown, those players still remaining compare their hands according to the following rankings:
Poker hands rank as follows:    1. Royal Flush (A, K, Q, J, 10, all one suit)    2. Straight Flush (i.e., 5 cards of one suit in sequence)    3. Four of a Kind    4. Full House (three of a Kind, and one Pair)    5. Flush (all one Suit but not in sequence)    6. Straight (five cards in sequence of ranks)    7. Three of a Kind    8. Two Pair    9. One Pair
Suits are not used to break ties, nor are cards beyond the fifth; only the best five cards in each hand are used in the comparison. The rules of resolving ties in standard poker are complex and are briefly outlined below. If two royal flushes occur, there is a tie and the pot is split equally. If two straight flushes occur, the high card in each hand determines the tie breaker. If the high cards are of equal rank, the pot is split equally. When there are multiple four of a kinds, the highest ranking card takes the pot. When there is a full house, the high ranking three of a kind determines who wins the pot. For a flush, the high ranking card determines who wins the pot. If those cards are equal, the next highest ranking card determines the winner, and so forth. High card determines who wins on two straights. If the high cards are equal, the pot is split. The high three of a kind determines who wins the pot. The highest pair of two pair wins. If the high pairs are of equal rank, the low pair wins. If both pairs are equal in rank, the rank of the fifth card determines who wins the pot. For a single pair, the high pair wins. If the pairs are equal, the high card of the three remaining cards wins. If no player has a pair or better, the single high card takes the pot. If the single high card is tied, the second highest card is the tie breaker. If the second highest card is a tie, subsequent cards are compared. If all cards are of equal rank, the pot is split.
Several variations are possible when playing for low hand (Aces having a value of 1). Some games permit the ace to play low and ignore straight flushes, making the 5, 4, 3, 2, A straight the best possible low hand, even if it makes a straight flush. Other games just reverse the order used for high hands, making 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 of mixed suits the best possible low hand. Still others count straights and flushes against you but let the ace play low, making 5, 4, 3, 2, A best. Note that in most games in which the ace plays low, a pair of aces is lower than a pair of deuces, just as an ace is lower than a deuce.
When a joker is in play, it usually can only be used as an ace or to complete a straight or flush. It cannot be used as a true wild card, for example, as a queen to make Q, Q, 4, 3, X play as three queens. When playing for low, the joker becomes the lowest rank not already held, so 8, 6, 4, A, X is played as 8, 6,4, 2, A, with the joker used as a deuce.
Although true wild cards are rarely seen in a casino, they are a popular way to add excitement to a home game. Wild cards introduce an additional hand, five of a kind, which normally ranks above a straight flush, as well as a royal flush. They can also cause confusion when two players hold the same hand composed of different wild card combinations. The standard rules of poker do not distinguish between such hands, but some players prefer to rank hands using fewer wild cards above less “natural” versions of the same hand.
Another popular casino game is Three Card Poker® table game. The rules of this game are outlines in commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 5,685,744, titled Method of Playing Card Games, Serial No. 504,023, filed Jul. 19, 1995, and incorporated herein by reference.
It is desirable to combine certain aspects of Blackjack, certain aspects of poker and certain aspects of Tripoley® game in a novel way to provide a casino card game that is both interesting and exciting.